Pressure actuated transmission control unit



April 14, 19 53 R. D. FAGEOL 2,634,709

PRESSURE ACTUAIED TRANSMISSIO'N coxi'i'am- Mfr 1 2 Sl-lEETS-SHEET 1 Filed. Feb; 2, 1949 Ina- 1.

IN VEN TOR.

Roan D FMEOL.

Q TTORNEV April 14, 1953 RFD. FAGEOL PRESSURE ACTUATED TRANSMISSION CONTROL mm Filed Feb. 2, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR. Roan-1v D. FAqeoL nrromvev Patented Apr. 14, 1953 PRESSU-RE AG'iUATED TRANSMISSION GGNTROL UNIT t'if Michi Application February 2, 1949,

Detroit. Mich; a cr bration seem No. $4,650

'5 om-lies; (01.- 121-41 This invention relates" to remote c'oiitroi" and has partictilalr reference to a remote control unit which, as illustrated, is arranges for shiftingthe forward and reverse gears or a fine transmission into and (int or gir, although the invention is not limited to the specific an pli'cation il1t'1s'trated'.

A principal objectof' the intention is to t and im roved'rremote con Another object of the invention is to provide such a unit in" which partial strokes of an de-'-' sired extent of the co trol' unit may be readily obtained by the operator;

Another object of the invention is to' provide such a unit in Which th'eypositioning of the man: on control is not limited by the piston of the power unit. v H 7 Another object of the invention is to i'irovide a novel and efficient remote control for use in connection with a injarine' transmission and for other applications where Work is to be-done at al' point remote from the operator but under the direct control-of th'e' operator; V

Other and further ol'o'jectsof the mveheonwm be apparentfro the following description and claims am will he understood-by reference to the accompanying drawings-of which there are two sheets, whih 15 way of illiistration Show a preferred enIbodinient and the firi-n'c'iples thereof and WhatI-now' consider to be the best mode in which I- have contemplated ap mi'fig those principles. Other embodiments of the-in vention embodying'- the same or equivalent firm ciples' may he usedand structural changes 21-37 be made as desired by those skilled i'qi the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims. -I also contemplate that of the 'severa1 d-i'fierentfeel tures of my invention, certain ones thereof may be advantageously employed in some applications separate and apart from the remainder or the features.

In: the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic view'illustrating.th'an plication' of a remotecontrol unit embodyingthe invention to a marineicraf-t for operating. there versegear thereof;

Fig. 2 is an-end= control unit;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional- View. of the remote control unit;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view,- partly'bmkengaway. of the manual control or operator for the conelevational'vie'w of the renew il i Fe. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the valve or the cdiit ol unit finish-stingthe parts shown in the oval irrFig. 3; and I V H u Fig, 6" is an enlarged sectional new taken along thlinei-t of Fig) 3'. In Fig. 1 there is1 show;n reinfote control unit en'ilood and its" there lilliistlttjii' who anim te s g the invention,-

isprovide'&

an internal; cornoiistion g andia-ti'ans mission unit 14, such itsifreq y'hein'g gies- A drive or" firdpeller thronghthe ignated as reverse gears; I v Sht'ft N5 is dlilieh' by" 131i engine transmission it f peller' is co the shaft Nifor pro'ixelhngthe b'oat; niissi on 'M" provides Witl'ia 5h 17 li l'e may have'the usualtliree astd'drite thesha thereto-in a" direct-i0 7 1ntee-eeu-ea1- pesitm 6f th transmission gearing i shaft l6 end-merbpe1irsre direction when the engine is ems, fofwi idpo'sition th s' hi ft lei/er th V ed sci tha tmmepweemieteam; e m1: or the remote The cylinder and oist control ifi-nitindieat'ed' generally at "21]; and a thrust or piston-rea Z2 fdjts from "he en of the tit-HD 211 a fid i s edfiiitkf trt-lit'-s l 8'f0fmdl7ing the al lflfi one of it to the othr'; eon1iit-M -eEifinct d' intake manifold i fiot-th nterns-Mom engine is connected-to the i unit 20 So that the siidtidfi during operation of e eng for actn'a'ting the pi s n c The remote control unit includes a control 28 (Fig. 4) which may be pos' ion jacent' the steerig whee-1' 30 of t this control is connected-by a tin-g ermeation inoI-ieatedg neutral position in- F'g. s counterclockwise to the" d'o ttecl iine positihri cat-ed at, which represents the forward no 1' tion of :the control; and clockwise to the dotted line r position 13:8 which --feprese1its .the reter's'e posit-ion .ofthe cgmtroi.

The remote tenth,

A nit is;- -.constructedand the engine 12 is operating,

arranged so that when positioning of the control 34 in the neutral position will position the shift lever I8 and the transmission in the neutral position if the transmission is not already in such position. The remote control unit is also adapted to arrange the transmission in its forward position when the control 34 is positioned in the forward position indicated at 36 and to position the transmission in the reverse position when the control 34 is in the position indicated at 38, provided that the engine is operating.

The lever 34 is mounted on a cylindrical member 46 which in turn is rotatably supported in the housing 42, the housing in turn being mounted on a bracket 44 which may be fastened to a suitable panel. The motion transmitting connection includes a flexible motion transmitting cable 46 and a conduit 48 therefor. One end of the conduit 48 is secured to the housing 42 and one end of the cable 46 passes into the housing and around the cylindrical member and is secured thereto for movement therewith in both directions of rotation thereof. The lever 34 is secured to the cylindrical member so as to rotate the same in the housing 42, the housing 42 being provided with a legend F to indicate the forward position for the lever 34, the legend N to indicate the neutral position, and the legend R to indicate the reverse position. thereof.

The other end of the conduit 48 is secured by a nut 56 to a coupling member 52 on one end of the piston and cylinder unit 26. One end 54 of the cable projects from the end of the conduit 48 and extends into the piston and cylinder unit 26 where it is connected to one end of a valve member 56. The cable 46 and conduit 48 are similar to a Bowden wire, and when the lever 34 is moved, the end 54 of the cable 46 connected to the control valve 56 will move the control valve member 56 substantially the same amount as the other end of the cable 48 moves in response to movement of the lever 34 so that movements of the control lever 34 will be accurately reflected in corresponding movements of the valve member 56. a

The piston and cylinder unit 26 is pivotally mounted in a bracket 58 suitably mounted adjacent the transmission I4, the side arms of the bracket having bearings which receive trunnions 66 provided on the unit 26. In this manner the unit may pivot so that the upper end of the shift lever I8 which swings through an arc during its range of movement will be free to move.

The thrust rod 22 at its forward end is provided with a clevis 62 which is pivoted by bolt 64 to the slotted end 66 of the shift lever I8, the shift lever I8 and the piston and cylinder unit 26 being shown in neutral position in Fig. 3. The shank of the bolt 64 actually passes through a member 68 which is positioned in the slotin the lever I8 and secured therein by the bolt 16 and the clamp 12.

The piston and cylinder unit '26 comprises a cylinder member 82 having end walls 16 and 13 secured thereto by bolts 74, each of the end walls being provided with a restricted orifice or bleed port 86 establishing communication between each end of the cylinder chamber 82 and the atmosphere through filters 84. The piston or thrust rod 22 projects through'the wall 16 and has secured thereto a piston member 86. Seal 88 arranged in a recess in the wall 76 around the shaft or rod 22 provides a sliding seal between the wall 16 and the rod 22. The end 54 of the cable 46 is securedby coupling member 96 to the the nut H6 by a ring I22 which comprises an annular plate or 4 end of the valve member 56 which projects outwardly of the cylinder 82 through the end wall 18 thereof. The member 96 is composed of split parts which are secured together by snap ring 92 and slides in a tubular extension 94 projecting from the wall 18.

A sealing ring, such for example as an O-ring 96, is carried by the coupling member 96 and forms a sliding seal with the interior of the extension 94. The coupling member 52 is threadedly secured to the end of the extension 64, and the engagement of the coupling member 96 with the ends of the extension 94 determines the limit positions of the valve member 56. A seal 98 is arranged in the recess in the wall I8 around valve member 56 and forms a seal therebetween.

The valve member 56 as illustrated comprises a tube or rod which is hollow and which is provided with valve ports I 62 and I 64. The conduit 24 which is connected with the intake manifold 26 is connected to the extension 94 and com municates with the interior thereof between the seal 98 and the seal 96, and hence the interior of the valve 56 is in communication with the intake manifold through port I 64, the interior of extension 94 hereinafter designated as chamber I66, and the conduit 24. The valve tube 56 pro jects into the cylinder 82 and into the hollow end of the rod 22, such hollow end hereinafter being designated as chamber I68. The left hand end of valve tube 56 is closed off so that chamber I 66 communicates with the interior of the tube only through ports I62 when such ports I82 are uncovered in chamber I68. Chamber I68 is in communication with the cylinder 82 on the left-hand side of the piston 66 through ports H6, such chamber on the left-hand side of pisten 86 being designated hereinafter as chamber H2, and the chamber on the right-hand side of the piston 86 being designated as chamber II 4.

A nut H6 which secures one end of the rod 22 to the piston 86 is formed to provide a valve chamber H8 in which a valve closure member I26 is arranged. The valve closure member I26 member which has a close sliding fit on the valve tube 56 so that closure memmay be pressed and O-ring I24 the valve closure into the opening in the nut H6, arranged partially in a groove in valve closure member I26 and the nut H6 in order to prevent leakage of fluid between the chamber H4 and the chamber H2. The valve closure member the nut H6 so as to facilitate the insertion of and the interior of the valve member 56 through the port I62. If the engine is operating, the

ment of the pistonto the right until the valve closure member I26 again closes the ports I02.

During movement of; the piston the right, the bleed port 80 in the n'dwall l6 admits air into" the chamber H2;- The' size of the; bleed ports 80 is such that they will not nullify" the sue-'- tion affect applied to the piston 86* formoving the same when the ports Hi2 are uncovered. It will be observed. that thevalve 56 maybe moved to its right-hand limit position, which event the piston will follow to its i'ig'ht hand limit I position and thence close the ports I92".

I The valve member 56 may also be moved to: the left from the position illustrated any amount up to and including its limit position, and when this occurs the ports E02 will be eicposed to the cham' ber' 38 and through the ports H to the charm ber H2. This will cause the application of silo-- tion to the chamber H2 and hence the mcve= merit of the piston to the left.

It" will be observed that the valve member 56 is freely shiftable relative to the piston 86 and may be moved from the position illustrated in Fig, 3 to either of u nmu: positions without waiting for movement of the piston, or the valve member 55 may be moved from one of its limit positions to theother' without waiting. for move-- ment of the piston 86. This arrangement which permits the valve 55 to move ahead of the pis ton makes it possible for the operator of the craft to shift the transmission into and out of forward and reverse. very expeditiously when it is desired to maneuver the craft in close quar= ters, such for example as when docking. The only work that the operator does in shifting the transmission is to shift the lever 34, which requires very little effort because the valve member 56 is merely a control valve and does not apply any of the thrust exerted in movement of the rod 22' in either direction.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is understood that this is capable of modification and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims- I claim:

1. A remote control unit comprising a cylinder member, a piston member. arranged in said cylinder member for reciprocal movement relative thereto between limit positions at each end of. said cylinder member, a piston rod secured to said piston member and projecting through an end wall of said cylinder member, a hollow valve member reciprocally arranged relative to said piston member and projecting through the opposite end wall of said cylinder member, said hollow valve member forming a fluid flow passage, said passage being provided with a fluid port on the end of the valve member disposed within said cylinder member and said passage having a suction connection thereto exteriorly of said cylinder member, a valve closure member carried by and movable with said piston member relative to said hollow valve member and cooperable with said hollow valve member to close said port therein, said cylinder member having a bleed in communication with each end thereof, said hollow valve member being movable between limit positions spaced a distance at least as great as the stroke of said piston member relative to said cylinder member, means operable for selectively positioning said hollow valve member in either of its limit positions or in any position intermediate its limit positions, positioning of said port of said hollow valve member in any of its positions relative to said valve closure member on one side of said valve closure me b'er uncovering said portand thereby applying suction tosaid cylinder member on said one side of said piston member whereby said piston member will move relative to said cylinder toward said port until said valve closure member closes said port; said piston member and hollow valve member beingconstructed and arranged so as to be freely movable relative to each other so as t'opermit free movement of said hollow valve member by said positioning means from one of its limit positions. to the other With-'- oiit thereby moving said piston member.

2. A remote control unitcomprising acylinder member, a piston membe'r reciprocally arranged in said cylinder member and separating the space iii-said cylinder member on one-side or said piston member from the space-orithe other side thereof, a piston rod secured" tosaid piston member and projecting through anend wall of said cylinder member, a hollow valve member reciprocally arranged relative to said piston rod and projecting through the oppositeendwall of saidcylinder member, said hollow valve member forming a fluid flow passage; said passage being provided with a fluid port on the end of the valve member disposedwithin said cylinder member and said passage having a fluid pressure connection thereto exteriorl'yof said cylinder member, a valve closure member carried by and movable with said piston member relativetosaid hollow valve'memberand cooperablewith said hollow valve memher to close said port therein, said hollow valve member being f-reelyshiftable in both directions relative to saidvalve closuremember so as to uncover said port on either side of said valve closure member and said piston member thereby to establishco'mmuni'cation between said cylinder member and said passage on a selected side of said piston member, said cylinder member having a bleedport communicating with each end thereof, said hollow valvem'ember being movable into any position thereof without thereby moving said piston member, said port being adapted to be uncovered so as to establish said communica-tionbetween said cylinderand said passage throughout the; extent of the aforesaid movement of said hollow valve member relative t'osaid valve closure member. we

3. A remote control unit'comprisin'ga cylinder member, a piston member arranged in said cylinder member for reciprocal movement relative thereto, a piston rod secured to said piston member, a hollow tubular valve member reciprocally arranged relative to said piston member and provided with a radially opening fluid port, a fluid pressure connection with the interior of said valve member, an annular valve closure member through which said hollow valve member extends in sealing relation therewith, said 'valve closure member being secured to and movable. with said piston member relative to said hollow valve member and cooperable with said hollow valve member to close said port therein, said cylinder member having a bleed in communica tion with one end thereof, means operable forshifting said hollow valve member relative to said. valve closure member of said hollow valve member on one side of said valve closure member thereby uncovering said port and causing the application of fluid pressure to said cylinder member on one side of said piston member whereby said piston member will moverelative to said cylinder, said hollow valve mem-- ber being freely movable into either of its limit for positioning said port;

positions within said cylinder member or into any intermediate position thereof without thereby moving said piston member, said port being uncovered during substantially all movement of said hollow valve member relative to said piston member.

4. A remote control unit comprising a cylinder member, a piston member reciprocally arranged in said cylinder member and separating the space in said cylinder member on one side of said piston member from the space on the other side thereof, a hollow piston rod secured to said piston member and projecting through an end wall of said cylinder member, a hollow valve member reciprocally arranged relative to said piston rod and projecting through the opposite end wall of said cylinder member, said hollow valve member projecting into and being spaced from the inner wall of said hollow piston rod, said hollow valve member forming a fluid flow passage, said passage being provided with a radially opening fiuid port on the end of the valve member disposed within said cylinder member and said passage having a suction connection thereto exteriorly of said cylinder member, an annular valve closure member through which said hollow valve member extends'so as to provide a sliding seal therewith, said valve closure member being so secured to and movable with said piston member relative to said hollow valve member and cooperable with said hollow valve member to close said port therein, said hollow valve member being shiftable relative to said valve closure member so as to uncover said port on one side of said valve closure member and said piston member thereby to establish communicationv between said cylinder member and said passage on said side of said piston member, said cylinder member having an atmospheric bleed port communicating with the movable in response to diiferences in pressure on the opposite sides thereof, an annular valve closure member carried by and movable with said pressure responsive member, a reciprocable hollow valve member extending through said valve closure member and slidably arranged relative thereto, means for connecting the interior of said hollow valve member to a source of suction, said hollow valve member having a port therein communicating with the interior thereof,

means for shifting said hollow valve member in pressure responsive member,

thereby permitting said pressure responsive member to be moved in said opposite direction.

ROBLEY D. FAGEOL.

References Gited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date Martin Sept. 26, 1911 Bragg Aug. 7, 1928 Bragg May 15, 1934 Russell Sept. 8, 1936 Rockwell Oct. 12, 1937 Wood Feb. 8, 1938 Carlson Dec. 13, 1938 Price Oct. 14, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain of 1878 Germany July 27, 1929 Great Britain Oct. 17, 1929 

